The Po marshland in Veneto Collage: Getty Images, Getty images Signature/pixelfit via canva.com
From our editorial team
Italy is the land of great art, epic history and unique aesthetics - Michelangelo, Dante, the perfect architecture of Florence, romantic Venice. However, if you delve deep into the map of Italy, you will stumble across names that don't sound at all like Bella Cultura.
Among the elegant names such as Firenze, Venezia, Milano or Roma, places suddenly appear that sound more like a bad joke or a dialect accident. La-bella-vita.club has compiled a top 5 of the funniest place names in Italy, from north to south.
Gnocca: "cream slice" in Veneto
Gnocca is a village in the Po marshland on the Isola della Donzella in north-east Italy. Today it is a district of Porto Tolle, which is one of the largest municipalities in Italy in terms of area. The actual meaning of the place name fits: The word "gnocca" is used colloquially as a casual compliment for a very attractive woman, but can also be a colloquial word for vagina, depending on the context.
Sesso: The "sex" in Emilia-Romagna
This place name is not really a juvenile name, as the word "sesso" means "sex" in German. However, the origin of the name probably comes from the Latin word for sixth mile ("sextum millarium") or for deposit ("sessus"). The village of 4,600 inhabitants is known regionally for its funfair, which has been taking place for more than 200 years. The A1 motorway, the Autostrada del Sole, runs not far from the village.
Capracotta: the "cooked goat" in Molise
Capracotta is a small municipality in the Molise region of eastern Italy. The population of the village of 815 people has more than halved since the 1970s. The village is located on the 1746 metre high Monte Campo70 kilometres from the Adriatic Sea. Literally translated, the name means "cooked goat". Fittingly, the town's coat of arms shows a goat jumping over fire. There are various legends about the origin of the name. One says that nomads wanted to build a community and therefore wanted to sacrifice a goat. The goat jumped over the fire and escaped. Where it stopped, the nomads settled down.
Bastardo: The "bastard" in Umbria
Perfect name for a village that you shouldn't joke about with the locals. The word Bastardo means exactly what you would expect. Bastardo is a village of 1,500 souls in the centre of Umbria. It was founded in the 17th or 18th century as the "Osteria del Bastardo", the "Bastard's Inn". There are two small churches in the village.
Belsedere: The "beautiful arse" in Tuscany
Tuscany is known for its rolling hills, cypress avenues and picturesque villages - and then there's Belsedere, which literally means "beautiful arse". The village is located in the province of Siena, not far from the famous Chianti wine-growing region. It is not clear why the village is called this, but anyone who lives here can at least be sure that they have a "nice place to live".
